UBS Group Raises Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $72.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.80% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $62.18. 11,627,983 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,021,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $268.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day moving average of $59.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.